Health insurance premiums for individual medical plans in Colorado will go up by an average of 26.7 percent in 2018.

DENVER -- Health insurance premiums for individual medical plans in Colorado will go up by an average of 26.7 percent in 2018, and small group plan premiums will rise by an average of 6.6 percent. But other than that, the CEO of Connect for Health Colorado says little has changed when it comes to health care in Colorado.

“Our first message is to make sure people understand we’re still here,” CEO Kevin Patterson told Nicole Brady on this weekend’s Politics Unpluggedwhen talking about the ongoing efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

“We think there’s even more reason with those rate increases, the tax credit also goes up, so they really do need to make sure that they come in, shop, look for the financial assistance that’s available.”

Patterson knows that republicans will continue their efforts to roll back the Obama-era health care plan, but until that happens he says it remains the law of the land.

“We’ve been able to show a surplus as a nonprofit,” he added. “We’ve got a strategic plan, we’re focused on making sure we’re there for our customers and that’s what we will intend to do.”